Of course, Gordon Freeman is back, but nothing we’ve seen so far indicates a trip
back to the Black Mesa Research Facility. Instead, most of what we saw focused on
an Eastern European locale called City 17. When asked about other locations for
the game, Valve Managing Director Gabe Newell wouldn’t give out any other specific
locations, but he did reveal something of interest, saying “the entire game will
be set on Earth,” and that gamers won’t be visiting the alien world of Xen this
time around.

Even so, it’s clear this isn’t any Earth we’re familiar with, at least not with
all these aliens running around and such. How much time has passed since the events
at Black Mesa? Valve wouldn’t tell us for sure, explaining that figuring out what’s
happened to Earth in the past few years (and what Freeman’s been up to) is something
you’ll learn over the course of the game. True to the game’s lineage, you know no
more or less than Gordon Freeman: he’s just as lost as you, and you’ll discover
the history of this brave new world right alongside him. You see the entire game
through his eyes, there are no third-person scripted sequences, there are no movie-like
cinematics, and you never even hear Gordon speak. As Newell states simply, “You
are Gordon Freeman.”

As in the original game, you’ll have some help this time around. One of the key
figures is girl named Alyx Vance, who, as it turns out, is the daughter of one of
the scientists from Black Mesa. (“A child of this new world,” says Lombardi.) You
might remember her father, Eli -- he was the only scientist “of color” to appear
in the game -- and he returns for Half-Life 2 as well. It turns out Alyx’s mother
was killed during the incident at Black Mesa, and she’s well aware of who Gordon
Freeman is … although you may not be entirely sure yourself. Also returning: our
buddy, Barney the security guard, who we last saw successfully escaping from Black
Mesa at the end of Blue Shift.

Although nothing substantial, we were able to glean a little more info from Valve
on a variety of topics. At points, you’ll be fighting with aliens from Xen, for
reasons that have yet to be revealed. And, just as you fought the military in Half-Life,
you’ll find yourself in combat against City 17 personnel. Vehicles will be present
and play a major role, and they won’t just be preprogrammed objects on a rail; you’ll
be in full control and will need them to get from one area to another quickly.

The Game

Half-Life 2 is developed by Valve Software the creators of Half-Life. In conclusion,
Half-Life 2 WILL set new standards for every game that precedes it to try to brake,
what more can you ask for in a game?

The Technology

Half-Life takes advantage of licensed technology from id Software, but adds a whole
new level of proprietary technology. Just a few of the technological advancements
include:Renderer

Version 2.0 (and below) shaders, bump mapping, LOD on models and world

Effects include but are not limited to: particles, beams, volumetric
smoke, sparks, blood, environmental effects like fog and rain

Scalability

Dx6-Dx9 hardware supported

Materials System

Instead of traditional textures, Sourcedefines sets of materials that specify
what the object is made from and the texture used for that object. A material
specifies how an object will fracture when broken, what it will sound like when
broken or dragged across another surface, and what that object’s mass and buoyancy
are. This system is much more flexible than other texture only based systems.

Materials can interact with objects or NPCs such as mud or ice for vehicles to slide/lose
traction on.

Multiplayer Network Code

Time and gamer tested by millions of gamers around the world

Support for
both LAN based multiplayer and Internet based multiplayer games

Server browser - Displays all active game servers and allows a player to
choose which one to participate on. Players can filter and sort server lists
in order to speed up the display and selection of a server.

Friends instant
messenger - Allows players to message each other both in and out of the game
as well as join friends in existing games. No more confusion about what server
your friends are on, you can easily join with this feature.

VGUI – Valve’s
custom GUI interface mimics most of the windows controls but is rendered using the
Source engine for both in game and out of game uniform UI display. VGUI is
platform independent and is Unicode compliant for ease of localization

Programming

All code written in C/C++ using Visual Studio 6.0. Easily and quickly derive
new entities from existing base classes.

Lives in the sand, and lurks around under Nova Prospekt. These Antlions attack swiftly,
and always travel in packs. However, you can lure them to do your bidding with the
scent of Pherapods.

Antlion Guard

The bigger, more bad-ass version of the Antlion. You can't lure Antlion Guards
with the Pherapods, so you're going to have to toss barrels and cap a bunch
of shells in this big momma to take it down.

Barnacle

Just like the Barnacles from the original Half-Life, it'll pick up anything
with it's excessively long and powerful toungue. However it doesn't know
what it's picking up, so why not give it a flamable barrel to chew on?

Headcrab

These annoying so-called 'headhumpers' return from the original game. These
headcrabs have the same attributes as last time, but now they're a little bit
more responsive, and they come in different types. Oh no!

Fast Headcrab

This is the first variation of the headcrab, but don't underestimate this one,
because it is so goddamn fast it's going to bunnyhop into your face. Seriously.

Poison Headcrab

Now it's the perfect time to crap your pants. For the first time ever, you can
actually be scared by a headcrab...a poison one that is. Once the poison headcrab
touch you, you will instantly lose all your health. But luckily, your HEV suit will
inject antidote into you, and you will slowly regain all of your previous health.

Zombie

Just the the headcrab, it's back, and it comes in different forms. This zombie
is a little bit smarter than the one in the last game, just make sure you're
not too close to them because they will gang up on you, and toss barrels and tables
at you.

Fast Zombies

Now this type of zombie, is seriously dangerous, and scary. They will run to you
at an unbelievable speed, and well...once it reaches you, it's over. Unless
you pop a couple of shotgun shells in its head, then you can easily kill them.

Poison Zombie

This one isn't as scary as the fast zombies, however you shouldn't underestimate
this one, nor walk up to it. You can either wait for the zombie to toss the poison
headcrabs at you, or you can lob a grenade in front of it.

Ichthyosaur

Actually, you won't encounter any Ichthyosaurs in Half-Life 2, unfortunately.
The only times you will see them are in one of the cutscenes, and if you fall into
the sea, and you'll get eaten.

Leeches

Same as the Ichthyosaur, you won't actually encounter any of these unlike the
original game. You will only see them if you go too deep into the water, and you'll
get your face eaten.

Characters / Allies

G-Man

The mysterious G-Man, also known as the Government Man, watches over Gordon throughout
the Resonance Cascade. The G-Man was impressed by Gordon's survival of the incident,
and he offered Gordon a job that he couldn't decline. Now, the G-Man brings
Gordon to City 17 and assists him in his next 'mission'.

Alyx Vance

She is the young and talented daughter of Eli Vance. Alyx finds you struggling in
City 17, and becomes your ally to fight against the Combine.

Eli Vance

Eli was one one of your colleagues back in Black Mesa, he was also a survivor in
the Resonance Cascade. However, his wife Azian didn't make it through the incident,
he is Alyx's father and he's very protective of her.

Barney Calhoun

He was your ass-kicking sidekick from Black Mesa, and he is still kicking some serious
ass in City 17. You will meet up with Barney alot in the streets of City 17.

Dr. Isaac Kleiner & Lamarr

Dr. Kleiner was another of your scientist pals from Black Mesa. On his way out of
the Black Mesa facility, he found a harmless headcrab which soon became his adorable
'pet', named Lamarr. Even though Kleiner says that Lamarr is completely
harmless, she seems to have a grudge with Barney all the time.

Dr. Wallace Breen

Breen was the administrator in Black Mesa. When the Resonance Cascade was triggered
and the Combine Overwatch was taking over Earth, he cowardly surrendered to the
Combine, betrayed humanity, and soon became the leader of the Combine Overwatch

Dr. Judith Mossman Judith was the last of the survivors at Black Mesa. She was very
jealous about how it should've been her in the test chamber in Black Mesa instead
of Gordon. It seems that Judith and Alyx always has a very serious conflict with
each other, and they never get along.

Father Gregori

He is a genius...as well as a maniac. This holy man lurks around setting traps and
killing the undead in the zombie-infested town of Ravenholm.

Dog

He is a lovable, tiny pet that Eli built to protect his daughter...until Alyx starting
building and adding on to Dog. Now he is an unstoppable, over-sized monster that
will greatly help you on your mission.

Citizen Rebels

The resistance force of City 17 will eventually meet up with Gordon to assist him
as much as they can, to fight against the Overwatch.

Vehicles

Scout Car (Buggy)

This is the scout car that you'll be able to drive during the middle portion of
the game. The buggy can drive over numerous types of terrain, including small hills,
sand, and of course the usual concrete road. It also has a built-in ammo respply
box, nitrous boost system, and a mounted Tau cannon to help you clear anything that
gets in your way.

Airboat

The airboat will be your ultimate weapon to escape from the Combine forces that
pursuits you in the Water Canals chapter. It is light, manuverable, and powerful
as well once you are armed with the mounted Pulse Rifle.

Weapons / Items

Crowbar

Firepower: Weak
Ammo capacity: N/A
Secondary function: None

The crowbar makes a return from the original game, and it looks sexier than ever.
The crowbar will be your weapon of choice when it comes to crackin' up supply crates,
breaking wood, or just beating up some headcrabs.

This new MP7 sub-machinegun is the replacement for the MP5 back in Black Mesa. It's
got average firepower, the accuracy is pretty decent, and the reload time is pretty
quick, so remember to strafe and shoot at the same time, and stop behind something
to reload. The MP7 has a built-in grenade launcher, it will launch grenades that
will explode on impact to a surface or enemy.

You will find yourself using the shotgun alot in the game, especially in Ravenholm.
A nice double-barrel shot to a fast zombie's head will take them out instantly.
The shotgun is extremely powerful, so make sure you get up close to the enemy then
pull the trigger!

Frag Grenade

Firepower: Very high Ammo capacity: 1 equiped,
4 reserved Secondary function: Short-range roll Grenades are very
effective and entertaining when you lob one in front of a group of enemies, watch
them blow up and watch the ragdolls soar through the air. However, it ain't that
pretty if they do that to you, this is why you quickly whip out your Gravity Gun,
shoot it back at them, and watch them get a taste of their own medicine.

The powerful RPG returns, and it's even more useful now! The RPG is perfect for
clearing out a large number of Combine Soldiers when it gets kind of heavy, shooting
down Gunships, and knocking down Striders!

The Pulse Rifle is basically a beefed up alternative to the sub-machinegun, though
it lacks in ammo capacity. The secondary will launch a piercing energy orb, which
will tear up most enemies in an instant. Launch one in a small room full of combine
and watch the orb bounce off walls and pierce through soldiers, woot!

Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (Gravity Gun)

Firepower: N/A
Ammo capacity: None
Secondary function: Grab object

The Gravity Gun is a very unique weapon that puts physics to use. This gun can grab
any light to medium weight item using secondary fire and move it around, but during
combat, you can toss the object forward by using the primary fire while grabbing
something. Flamable barrels and razor blades are great to grab and toss during combat,
and you can grab unreachable supply crates too.

Pherapod

Firepower: N/A
Ammo capacity: N/A
Secondary function: Recall Antlions

The Pherapod is indeed another unique weapon. With these smelly balls, you can fool
Antlions to do your bidding and fight for you, however you can only use the Pherapod
for a small portion of the game. Secondary fire will make you squeeze the ball to
emit more scent, and the Antlions will follow you, recalling them.

The last of the classic weapons, but definately not least. The Crossbow is Half-Life
2's sniper rifle. It's equiped with a burning hot bolt, so you know it's powerful.
Use the secondary fire to zoom in the scope, pull the trigger and watch the burning
stick pierce through the Combine Soldier and stick to the wall. Awesome!